Children who experience sustained trauma across their early lives are more likely to present with suicidal ideation or self-harm as teenagers, according to a new study led by 91色情片 researchers.
A followed more than 73,000 NSW children from their prenatal period through to adulthood to reveal how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to risks of teen self-harm or suicide. Those with the highest risk of self-harm or suicide in adolescence sustained cumulative ACEs throughout their early and middle childhood.
鈥淲e investigated the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and subsequent suicidal ideation and self-harm in adolescence using data from the NSW Child Development Study,鈥 says lead author Dr Oliver Watkeys, a 91色情片 Sydney Postdoctoral Research Fellow.
Rather than treating childhood adversity as a single experience, the researchers used data from multiple sources across key periods of child and adolescent development to map six distinct trajectories of exposure to ACEs in the general population.
鈥淩esearch in this area mostly looks at single types of adverse childhood experiences. Not many studies have looked at trajectories of multiple adversities, or the accumulation of ACE exposure over time,鈥 Dr Watkeys says.
鈥淲e asked, 鈥榓re there different kinds of patterns of ACE exposure among kids in terms of how many ACEs they experience over time?鈥 and 鈥榟ow does that relate to subsequent suicidal ideation and self-harm?鈥欌
He and the team found while most children had limited exposure to ACEs throughout their development, others experienced spikes of adversity at different stages 鈥 or, in the highest-risk group, at persistently high levels across their entire childhood, from the prenatal period through to middle childhood.
鈥淭he kids that had an accumulation of ACEs throughout both early and middle childhood faced the greatest danger,鈥 Dr Watkeys says.
鈥淭hese children were more than 10 times as likely as those in the low-adversity group to experience suicidal ideation or self-harm.鈥
Media enquiries
For media enquiries and to arrange interviews, please contact聽Melissa Lyne:
罢别濒:听0415 514 328
贰尘补颈濒:听m.lyne@unsw.edu.au
What are ACEs?
The researchers found around 73% of adolescents with a record of self-harm or suicidal ideation had experienced a high level of adversity in at least one developmental stage.
The study broadened the definition of ACEs beyond traditional measures such as abuse, neglect and household dysfunction 鈥 which often reflect intergenerational, or parental, risk factors 鈥 to include the child鈥檚 own adverse experiences of contact with police, involvement with child protection services, parental death, poverty and time spent in out-of-home care.
鈥淢aternal and paternal death is obviously very traumatising for a child,鈥 Dr Watkeys says.
He says police contact emerged as one of the strongest indicators of later risk in childhood, even when it did not involve criminal conviction or incarceration.
鈥淐ontact with police could be as a victim, a witness or a person of interest,鈥 he says. 鈥淪imply being in contact with police, for all different kinds of reasons, can be a source of distress.
鈥淚t can be an othering experience. It can make people feel like a burden. It can make them lose hope.
鈥淎nd that's why it's a really important aspect to look at in the context of suicide and suicide risk.鈥
It鈥檚 not just a mental health issue, it鈥檚 a social issue.
Key signals
The study drew on linked administrative records spanning health, welfare, education, child protection and police systems, which highlights how signs of risk are spread across government agencies 鈥 often long before a young person presents to mental health services.
鈥淭he multi-agency data holds early warning signs that point towards increased risk of self-harm and suicide among the kids who experience multiple adversities,鈥 Dr Watkeys says.
He says the study鈥檚 findings further echo and support calls made in the latest National Suicide Prevention Strategy for a whole of government approach, though there is still room for improvement.
鈥淭he latest strategy covers supporting people who are transitioning into and out of detention,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 really talk about children who are in contact with police generally and what can be done to help support them.鈥
He also says suicide prevention efforts need to start earlier in life.
鈥淭his means looking at all the different touch points where kids are coming into contact with different government services and asking, 鈥榟ow can we be picking these kids up and bringing them in to get the support they need?鈥欌
Informing prevention
鈥淲hile intervention at any stage is important, the earlier we can get in there the better,鈥 Dr Watkeys says.
鈥淭he kids whose outcomes weren鈥檛 as bad only had high ACEs in one developmental period, which suggests that if we can do something to arrest that trajectory from being persistently high, we can alter outcomes.鈥
He says the prenatal period also provides a key opportunity for prevention, when parents are already engaged with health services.
鈥淲e could be doing things to increase screening for parents who might have children with a higher risk of these outcomes down the track,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his includes putting things in place that go beyond just looking at the child 鈥 such as offering parenting support and family-based interventions.鈥
Co-author 91色情片 Professor Melissa Green is the Scientific Director of the NSW Child Development Study. She says suicide risk cannot be understood 鈥 or addressed 鈥 solely as an individual mental health issue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a mental health issue, it鈥檚 a social issue,鈥 Prof. Green says.
鈥淭he whole family鈥檚 living in adversity, not just the child,鈥 she says.
鈥淪o how can we pull the whole family out of the intergenerational cycle of adversity?
鈥淲e need a considered and coordinated prevention approach across a range of human service agencies.鈥
If this story has raised issues for you聽or if someone you know needs support, please contact:
- 尝颈蹿别濒颈苍别:听13 11 14 or聽
- Beyond Blue:聽1300 224 636 or聽
- Suicide Call Back Service:聽1300 659 467 or聽聽
- Parent Line NSW: 1300 130 052 or
- Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
In an emergency聽call triple zero: 000
